How Ryan Newman is using AI to assist in design thinking

UC professor Ryan Newman is integrating AI-driven technology into the classroom to help students turn their ideas into innovation. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries around the world, Newman is exploring how it can be used to transform the way students think about the design process and develop the skills necessary to find success after graduation.

Ryan Newman has been teaching intermittently at the University of Cincinnati since graduating, bringing his expertise in design to students in DAAP for nearly 20 years. He has also expanded his classes to non-DAAP students, teaching the fundamentals of design thinking to a group ranging from business majors to philosophy majors.

Design thinking has been a major focus for Newman, and he approaches the topic differently than many people might expect.

"The class is referred to as design-ED thinking as much as design thinking," Newman said. "The point isn't purely to learn design thinking as a theory. It's developing how you approach an idea, how you build your creative process and how you decide what's worth developing."

Artificial intelligence has inched its way into nearly every classroom, and while some professors see AI as a tool that reduces learning, Newman welcomes its use in his classes. He believes AI has played a crucial role in enhancing his teaching, as long as students drive and author the process.

He was first introduced to AI through his work and teaching architecture through parametric and generative design processes, saying the building blocks of the technology have been around longer than most people might expect. Newman then began experimenting with image generation and met Bootsy Collins in 2023, a musician from the Cincinnati area. Some of Collins' stage costumes have been inspired by images Newman created with the help of AI, and the two continue to work together today.

"I really got introduced to it on both the architecture practice side and, let's say, in terms of professionally expanding the tools I'm using," Newman said. "On a personal and creative side, it forged an unbelievable collaboration."

Newman described AI as "the fourth group member" in his classroom, saying it is not only a way to generate information but also a way to receive feedback and critique. He often has AI running throughout the day to develop new methods and determine what works and what does not.

"It's another marker in the cup," Newman said. "It expands the medium and surface of creation. It gives me more ways to draw."

"I think of it as a fourth participant, one that reflects your thinking back at you," Newman said. "It doesn't move the work forward - we do. It can reflect back what we are thinking, revealing potential gaps or even opportunities we haven't seen."

Professor Ryan Newman and students working during class in Findlay Market.

Max Kemats UC NEXT Innovation Scholar

Max Kemats, a former student of Newman's who is now involved in UC's NEXT Innovation Scholars program, enrolled in the class to learn more about the design-thinking process and better understand how innovation and creativity can be applied in real-world settings through hands-on experiences.

He participated in several group projects that challenged students to think creatively and collaborate with others, including a sustainability innovation sprint hosted by Cintrifuse that allowed him to apply what he learned in a real-world innovation setting.

"Whether it was for image generation, idea generation or refining concepts, the class helped me understand how AI can support and enhance the creative process rather than replace it," Kemats said. "Newman was the first professor I had who not only encouraged the use of AI but also taught us how to use it in creative, thoughtful and effective ways."

In a world where AI is advancing rapidly, Newman's engagement with students about the best ways to use the technology brings new perspectives and approaches to the classroom. He has seen other professors avoid AI completely, but he believes his approach has elevated the way he teaches.

"People worry AI replaces creativity. I don't see that," Newman said. "The risk I watch for is students and creatives handing over the judgment, letting the tool decide what's good. So the class is built to keep that with them. The AI can generate, ideate and critique until the credits run out, but the choices remain theirs to make."

Newman believes a former student from Germany, Kiara Schomberg, put into words the connection between AI and design thinking better than he could. The interior design student gave this reflection at the end of the semester:

"A realization I didn't have in mind at all when I started was that sometimes what's missing can be as important as what's visible," Schomberg said. "The disappearance of German bread culture in Cincinnati, from war, cultural suppression and industrialization, became central to my narrative. It shifted me from documenting what exists to highlighting what's lost. Design thinking helped me recognize absence as a storytelling element, a way to create emotional connection and reflection."

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Interview conducted and article written by Austin Bass.

Photos provided by Ryan Newman

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